[RCL] Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18 The word “shepherd” comes through strongly this morning. We hear the word a total of seven times, and it’s a familiar image – Jesus as a shepherd is frequently depicted in scripture and art. Psalm 23 is the most familiar psalm, with people often turning…

RCL: Acts 4:5-12; Psalm 23; 1 John 3:16-24; John 10:11-18 Every year, regardless of the lectionary cycle, we are invited to live in a rich, metaphorical world. A world where there are a whole slew of sheep and one, good, sacrificial Shepherd.  It can be a funny world to live in, since not many of…

Alleluia! Christ is risen! Today’s gospel text uses an image that may be lost on many of us, an image that we may know from childhood stories — but not firsthand experience. Jesus, living in the first century, talking to people who know livestock and agriculture in their hearts and bones, tells his disciples, his…

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is always Good Shepherd Sunday, and there are always sheep everywhere you look. This year they’re especially thick – we hear two of the most familiar and cherished portions of scripture – the 23rd Psalm and the section from John’s gospel where Jesus says “I am the good shepherd.” Over…

As is often the case, what is not included in our lessons may be of utmost importance in our hearing what is going on in these lessons. For instance, in Acts a lame man has been healed, and Peter and John have been hauled before some sort of ecclesiastical court to explain why the lame…

As is often the case, what is not included in our lessons may be of utmost importance in our hearing what is going on in these lessons. For instance, in Acts, a lame man has been healed, and Peter and John have been hauled before some sort of ecclesiastical court to explain why the lame…

This is the story of an Easter people on a Sunday morning, welcoming a visitor who steps in off the street. “Hi! My name is Joe” his name tag reads as he stands in the parish hall at coffee hour. He looks a little out of sorts, standing by the coffee urn, a sugared donut…

Today is “Good Shepherd Sunday.” Many of us associate this day with a particular painting, often rendered in stained glass, the familiar one with the rich, dark tones. It features Jesus as the gentle shepherd, carrying home a wayward sheep. Many children who grow up in the church carry this image of the Christ who…

Today we celebrate Jesus the Good Shepherd–and we also celebrate Mother’s Day. For me, there is an interesting coming together of images on this day: Jesus, the mother of us all, and our earthly mothers as good shepherds. Both Jesus and our mothers are anxious that we follow their lead, and I celebrate the ways…